What we do

The Section conducts studies characterizing the pharmacokinetics and CNS pharmacodynamics of alcohol in humans using behavioral, neuroendocrine, electrophysiological and functional imaging measures. These studies, conducted in social and high-risk drinkers, enable the evaluation of genetic and environmental risk factors influencing the acute and adaptive responses to alcohol. The Section is also conducting studies to develop human laboratory paradigms that can be used to screen novel potential treatments for alcoholism in terms of their ability to alter the pharmacological effects of alcohol and/or alcohol self-administration behavior.

Two alcohol administration methods form the foundation of our work: (1) the alcohol clamp, and (2) computer-assisted self-infusion of ethanol (CASE). Both methods employ intravenous (IV) administration of alcohol solutions, which when combined with a physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model for ethanol, results in systemic (and therefore brain) alcohol exposures that are extremely precise and well-controlled. These methods provide a unique platform for studies evaluating the influence of risk factors including sex, age, drinking history and genetic polymorphisms on alcohol responses and alcohol self-administration behavior in human laboratory studies.

Current Staff

Vijay Ramchandani obtained his undergraduate degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Bombay University in India in year 1990 and Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA in 1996. From 1996 to 2002, he worked at the Alcohol Research Center at Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, first as a Research Associate and then as an Assistant Scientist and Part-time Assistant Professor. In 2003, Dr. Ramchandani joined NIAAA as a Staff Scientist in the Laboratory of Clinical and Translational Studies (LCTS), and in 2007, he became Chief of the Unit on Human Physiology and Pharmacokinetics. In March 2010, Dr. Ramchandani was appointed as a Tenure-track Clinical Investigator and Acting Chief of the Section on Human Psychopharmacology.

Dr. Stangl joined the Section as a postdoctoral fellow in September 2010. She earned her undergraduate degree at Dickinson College and her PhD in cognitive neuroscience at The George Washington University. She became a Research Fellow in the Section in November 2015. Her research uses the Computer-Assisted Self-Administration of Ethanol (CASE) protocol that uses this IV alcohol method to assess alcohol-seeking and consumption behavior that is driven primarily by the pharmacological effects of alcohol. To better characterize the motivation for alcohol, she extended this model to develop a novel progressive-ratio paradigm. Most recently her interest in the effects of stress and alcohol cues on alcohol-seeking behavior led her to develop a new method combining CASE with acute stress exposure using personalized guided imagery scripts. Other interests include studying the relationship between childhood trauma, early life stress, genetics, and risk for substance use disorders in humans.

Dr. Gowin earned his Ph.D. in 2011 in behavioral neuroscience and psychopharmacology from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. Starting in 2012, he did a one year fellowship at the University of California San Diego where he became a scan operator for fMRI studies and learned to analyze imaging data. He joined the Section on Human Psychopharmacology in August 2013. He is interested in developing neuroimaging as a predictive tool to determine which individuals are likely to develop substance use disorders using machine learning algorithms.

Dr. Sloan joined the Section in September 2015. He completed his medical training and Psychiatry residency at McGill University. He is in the process of completing a Master’s Degree in Psychiatry in which his thesis project examines the effects of stressful life events and coping styles on alcohol and drug use in a cohort of young adults. His current work includes the development of a human laboratory model to study impaired control in heavy drinkers, a PET study evaluating the effect of alcohol on the endogenous opioid system in humans, and the investigation of novel pharmacological treatment strategies for alcohol use disorder. His clinical practice in Montreal primarily focuses on treating patients with substance use disorders and a wide range of psychiatric comorbidities.

Courtney Vaughan received her B.S. in Psychology and B.A. in Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University in May 2015, and joined the Section shortly thereafter. She is an alumna of the Undergraduate Scholarship Program (UGSP) which provides a scholarship up to $20,000 per academic year in return for a service commitment to the National Institutes of Health upon graduation. Courtney is involved in the Resist version of the Computer-Assisted Self-Administration of Ethanol (CASE) protocol where her duties include screening participants, running experimental sessions, and administering psychological evaluations. Her research interests include alcohol addiction, mindfulness, women’s health, and racial disparities. Courtney plans to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology.

Alyssa (Allie) Schneider received her B.S. in Psychology from Allegheny College in May 2016 and joined the section shortly after graduation. She is currently working on the Nalmefene protocol where her duties include recruiting and screening participants, running experimental sessions, administering psychological evaluations and analyzing participant data, including fMRI data. Her research interests center around fMRI, susceptibility to social influence and substance abuse co-occurring with psychological disorders. In the future, she plans to pursue a graduate degree in clinical psychology.

Julia Swan received her B.A. in Psychology and English from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in May 2017 and joined the Section soon after graduation. She is currently assisting with the Resist version of the Computer-Assisted Self-Administration of Ethanol (CASE) protocol and the Nalmefene protocol by recruiting and screening participants, administering psychological evaluations, and running experimental sessions for the study. Julia is interested in understanding the relationship between alcohol use disorders, decision making, and functional neuroimaging, and she plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology.

James Hollingsworth received his B.S. in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in May of 2015, and joined the NIMH as an IRTA in June of 2016. After spending a year in the Sleep and Neurodevelopmental Services Branch, he joined the Section on Human Psychopharmacology as an NIH Academy Enrichment Program Scholar, where he plans to engage with the local community in projects surrounding health disparities. His previous research focused on the roles of medications and their effects on sleeping neurophysiology. Presently, he is assisting on screening healthy volunteers for the Computer-Assisted Self-Administration of Ethanol (CASE) and Nalmefene protocols, where he plans to administer psychological evaluations in addition to running the study sessions with participants. He is interested in going to graduate school for Clinical Psychology, where he plans to study the interaction between Socio-Economic Status, Race, Environment, and recidivism in the US Criminal Justice System.

Nia Byrd received her B.S. in Biopsychology Cognition Neuroscience with a minor in AfroAmerican and African Studies from The University of Michigan in April 2017 and joined the NHGRI as an Undergraduate Scholarship Program (UGSP) summer trainee shortly after graduation. Her previous research focused on understanding the role of caregivers for children with severe inherited conditions using their social networks. After working in the Social and Behavioral Science Branch for the summer, she joined this section. Nia currently works on protocols where she is involved with screening participants, administering psychological evaluations, and running experimental sessions. Her research interests focus on addiction, women’s health, mental illnesses, and health disparities. In the future, Nia plans to attend medical school for a dual M.D/M.P.H. degree.

Donovan Stock earned his baccalaureate degree in Psychology with Departmental Honors from Mercer University, graduating summa cum laude. As a clinical research professional, he has over 9 years of experience managing and coordinating industry sponsored and investigator initiated clinical research trials. Donovan joined the Section on Human Psychopharmacology as a Clinical Research Coordinator in May 2017. As the Clinical Research Coordinator for the Section, he collaborates with section staff to plan, prepare, implement, and monitor clinical research activities, and provides assistance in the writing, preparation, and submission of materials to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Special Volunteers

Dr. Vatsalya has been a Special Volunteer since February 2014. He is a research scientist in the Department of Medicine at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville KY. His interests include novel human paradigm for alcoholism; identifying treatment for alcoholism; pathophysiological and psychobehavioral evaluations; vulnerable and comorbid conditions [age and sex factors, viral infection]; and biomarkers of alcoholism and alcohol-based organ injury.

Dr. Yan has been a Special Volunteer since July 2015, after completing a postdoctoral fellowship in the Section. Dr. Yan obtained an M.S. in Genetic Counseling and Ph.D. in Human and Molecular Genetics through a dual degree program at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her training integrated clinical genetic counseling experience with research on alcohol dependence using statistical genetics methods at the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics. Her previous work investigated the use of genetic information in clinical risk prediction for alcohol dependence. Her postdoctoral work focused on the quantitative analysis of genetic and phenotypic data using genome-wide and systems-based approaches. She currently works at the Johns Hopkins University McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine on the clinical genetics team and is a practicing genetic counselor in the pediatric and adult medical genetics clinic. She is continuing to do research and see patients, with the aim of integrating genetic counseling and research on alcohol use disorders.

Joanna is a Medical & Clinical Psychology Ph.D. candidate at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) in Bethesda, MD. She is completing her dissertation in collaboration with Dr. Andrew Waters (USUHS) and Dr. Vijay Ramchandani (NIAAA, SHP). Together, they are examining the association between the ability to resist alcohol self-administration in the laboratory and the ability to abstain from drinking in the real-world using smart phones. Joanna’s clinical training is focused on treating and assessing active duty and Veteran military populations. Joanna is also developing her skillset in public policy, completing an internship in the Executive Office of the President, Office of National Drug Control Policy. Previously, Joanna was a Technical IRTA at NIAAA, where she coordinated a study on the treatment of comorbid alcoholism and post-traumatic stress. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from American University in Washington, DC and her M.S. from USUHS. Joanna plans to use her training and experience to translate clinical insights and research findings into consumer informed public policy.